The Franklin girls hockey team has had its fair share of winning seasons over the course of its decade-plus history. In fact, the Panthers are coming off a 14-4-4 campaign in 2017-18 in which they won a game in the Division 1 tournament before falling to eventual runner-up Methuen/Tewksbury.
Margie Burke has seen pretty much all of it over the course of the program’s history. But as the Panthers headed into last night’s scheduled game against Norwood rolling in the midst of a 10-0-0 start, the veteran coach readily admits she never saw this coming – at least at this rate.
“(A 10-0 record) was not on my radar,” Burke said.
The Panthers certainly had the talent for a strong season. Leading scorer Regan Paterson was back for her senior season, and there was a strong core on defense led by juniors Tina Pisano, Gina Vignone and Gianna Cameron.
But in a season full of victories, perhaps the biggest one took place even before the season started. Cassi Ronan, who played as a freshman before skating in juniors the previous two years, chose to return to the team for her senior season.
“I decided that I wasn’t going to play in college any more, so I just wanted to come back to (play for Franklin),” Ronan said following the team’s practice Friday at Sgt. Pirelli Rink.
Normally a defenseman, Ronan has converted to forward as an injury replacement and has joined Paterson on the top line. Paterson (11-11-22) leads the Panthers in scoring with Ronan (11-10-21) just a stride behind.
“I’m kind of an offensive-minded defenseman anyway, so it wasn’t that big of a transition,” Ronan said.
While last year’s team rode its solid defense and goaltending (18 goals allowed in 22 games), the Panthers this year clearly have stepped up their scoring pace. Pisano, a captain along with Paterson and Ronan, has added 2-12-14, followed by sophomores Amanda Lwandowski (6-4-10), Libby Carter (5-3-8) and Katelyn Brown (4-2-6). Vignone has added 3-4-7 from the blue line.
“I knew we’d be good this year, probably better than last year,” Paterson said. “But 10-0, I think, was unexpected for all of us. But we’ve been working hard, and it’s been paying off.”
A glance around the rink shows plenty of banners for the Franklin boys team, traditional-laden with Hockomock League championships and state titles. While the Hockomock is a relatively new league for girls hockey, with a 4-0-0 record in the league and wins already against Canton and Mansfield/OA/Foxboro, the Panthers yearn to add one of their own.
“We kind of always wanted to win (the Hockomock), so just winning our league has been a goal for all of us,” Paterson said.
Then there is the matter of the unbeaten record. While the Panthers know there is a lot of hockey left – there are uncoming matchups against Westwood (Wednesday) and Walpole as well as a second trip around the Hockomock – they are embracing their current standing.
“There’s a lot of really good teams,” Burke said. “So let the kids get excited, they’ll start to believe it. But for now it’s just fun. We’re enjoying it.”
Challenge is set
The third annual Middlesex League/Catholic Conference Hockey Challenge will take place tomorrow at O’Brien Rink in Woburn. The event features five consecutive games, with each of the Catholic Conference’s five teams taking on some of the best public programs in the state.
The Catholic Conference has gotten the best of it over the first two seasons with a combined record of 6-1-3. Winchester grabbed the only one for Middlesex League last year when it beat Xaverian, and will go for two in a row tomorrow when it takes on Malden Catholic in the nightcap (8 p.m.).
Catholic Memorial and Reading drop the puck for the event at noon, followed by Belmont vs. Xaverian (2 p.m.) and BC High vs. Burlington (4 p.m.). Melrose, the lone Middlesex team making its debut in the event this year, matches up against St. John’s Prep at 6 p.m. …
Another staple of the Martin Luther King Day calendar is the Green Cup between Marshfield and Duxbury, which hosts this year’s 10th annual event at The Bog in Kingston. The daylong event includes games between teams across all levels of hockey, including the girls varsity teams at noon and the boys varsity game at 2 p.m.
Fund-raising events include T-shirt sales, a 50/50 raffle and chuck-a-puck contests, with proceeds will go to The Jimmy Fund and The Willpower Fund. There also will be bins for contributions to the Marshfield and Duxbury Food Pantries.